Researchers at the University of Cincinnati as reported in Health Day News have found that 14% of strokes happen when individuals are asleep resulting in about 58,000 emergency room visits annually.
According to the researchers, some of these patients would have been eligible for the clot-busting drug tPA if physicians had been able to pinpoint when the stroke started. If a stroke starts more than a few hours before a patient seeks treatment, tPA can cause bleeding that will extend and enlarge the stroke instead of helping.
That is why you should know some of the working signs of stroke:
- weakness on one side of the face
æ - sudden vision problems
æ - slurred speech
æ - sudden severe headaches
æ - sudden confusion.
æFind out more at the National Stroke Association.